Uniform insignia



March5,1946. r 5 H N 2,396,158

UNIFORM INS IGNIA Filed Sept. 28, 1942 a g1 2 a FIG.'4.

SAMUEL COHEN INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 5, 1 946 e. a

UNITED STAT-E P NT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates 'to'improvemen'ts in'a uniform'insignia fo'r' the' display of insignia and more particularly to epaulet-.1ike members commonly worn in' theNavy and other uniformed servicesforthe display of designations of rank, "service branch and the like.

Hertofore, it has been customary for' naval officers "to wear, with-certain of their uniforms, stiff insignia, boardswhich are 'detachably secured to 'the shoulder'portions of their uniforms, These boards usually "comprise a base member "of stiff material that .is coveredby'tightly stretched fabric. "On the 'under sid'e'of theboardis provided a mounting strap or clasps'for enga ement with loops or the like 'on'the'uniform. On the upper expo ed'face of the board, stripes ofgoldbraid and stars, oak-leaves and other; pertinent objects are securedto designate the. wearers rank and branch of service. This latter rank and service branchinsignia is often,jif notalways, stitched to the fabric cover or 'theshoulderiboard permanently. With. such a permanent arrangement, an advance in rank of an officer has alwaysmeant the acquisition of new shculderboardseven though the onesiformerlyapplicable havendt served their full usefulness. .During a period oi .war where the size of the armed'force is being increased at a very-rapid rate and the advance .of commissioned oflicersis. accelerated, the purchase of such shoulder boards, which-are-expensive, often works a. hardship upon; the men in lower ranks having vgenerally modestincomes. No provision has been :made ton-adder remove portions of the insignia on the shoulder-boards to accommodate such chan d .statusof the wearer.

Having in" mind the limited development and defects of the, prior-art, it is an important object .of. my invention to provide insignia .for shoulder boards, which insigniais easily positioned and "will not readily become displaced in use.

Another objector my invention is to provide, for use: with shoulder boards of the typezdescribed,

insigniaihat 21S. resiliently: held :in position on a shoulder boardandwill readily be movable .zor

.removable on. occasion. V Y I A still .furtherand .LIIiOl-BfSIJEQific "object of the invention-lathe provision of e'shoulder boards with replaceablezinsignia means that-is not easily disz'placed'on the boardzexcept whendesiredforpun poseseof: alteration or rearrangement.

iforegoing "objects and others ancillary thereto; as will become more apparent from vthe .sfollowing "description, I :prefer to accomplish as 'jtollows:

' r-Accordingi to-za invention; I form a loop of cloth 'or'braid material. flhe loop has incorporated initse'lf resilient means -whioh is adapted to be ten'sedso that the loop preferred embodiment :of my may be slippd over a stifll'bodied shoulder board.

In th'e 'case' oi stripes, the braid of the loop serves as the insignia. -In the case of the-loopwbein formednof cloth, the insignia :may beformed thereon orattached thereto. Specifically, the insignia 'bearing loops have "a resilient portion formed of elasticband that serves to contract thelo'op. .In position,tharsilient phrtions of the loops are disposed on the :under or unexposed face of'ith'e shoulder::bo'ard. "Such beingthecase, the insignia may 'beiadded' or removed or shifted as required and'thi may be done'without' recourse to. sewing,gluing, orother laborious operations.

In certain instances, the unexposedportions of the loops are coveredbya trimming :paneL'preferably secured to the board toiencase and finish the shoulder board.-

The novel features that I consider character istic of my'invention are set forthwith particularityin the appended claims. The invention itself, however, bothas to its organization and method of operation, together 'withadditional ob- 'jects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following de'scription of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawingjnwhich L Figure 1 :is'a perspective'view of the upperexposed'facexof a shoulder boardhaving my-invention incorporated therein,

l ligurerz is a perspective "view of a shoulder board from the undersidewithportions appearing as folded back for convenience of viewing, Y

Figure 3 is a perspective 'view (of an insignia stripe formedaccording to my teaching,

Figure 14 is anelevationall view of an insignia stripe of modified form that embodies'my invention; and

IFigure his :ai cross-sectional view showing a modified manner of attaching certain of the 'insighia.

A shoulder board to overcome the conditions and defects hereinbefore enumerated must have at least two totally distinct'characteristics; it must be'capable of being simply assembled with 'neatness bypersonsnot having skill or mechanical "ability; and it must be capable of retaining the insignia properly positioned'without dislodgment from ordinary use. Accordingly, apr'eferred embodiment of *my invention, referring 'to 'Figuresl and 2 of ""the'drawing, ismconstituted 'by-ashoulder' boardof'stiif material on which is removably mounted the desired insignia. The shoulder board, which is generally cloth covered,

is designated 'by the numeral 10 and is'shown [here as a pentagon in which there are at least two right angles having an opposed pointed portion II. It is customary in the United States "Navy to cover the shoulder board with dull black cloth which is tightly'stretched and glued or "sewed in place.

' "signia of rank often displayed upon such'a board "consists of bands or stripes l2, usually gold or gilt braid, and service insignia as the star I3 or other suitable objects such as acorns, leaves, and the like.

In Figure 3, the band I2 is shown as having its ends folded or turned under and these ends l4, l5 are joined by a resilient tape Hi. In placing such loops on the shoulder board, they are expanded against the resiliency of the tape l6 and slipped over and properly positioned laterally of the board with the resilient tape being disposed against the under face. One or more such stripes may be used and, since in color they are often gold or bright yellow, a neat contrasting appearance is created where the bands cross the exposed face and turn the edges of the board. The under turned ends l4, l5 of the bands are concealed in a manner later to be described.-

It is preferable that star I 3, or similar insignia, be displayed against a background that blends with the covering of the shoulder board.' For that reason, the band I 8, having the enlarged intermediate portion I 9, is cut from cloth of a nature closely corresponding in color and textioned as to spacing and centering before the tensed resilient portions are permitted to contract. By forming the loops when relaxed of a dimension less than the lateral cross-section of the shoulder board, they will be taut and lie neatly stretched upon the face of the board.

A hinged covering panel 24 is secured to the underside of the shoulder board and, when the insignia loops are in place, this panel .is swung to a position to cover the resilient portions of the loops and against the normally unexposed face of the shoulder board.

A convenient means for attaching the shoulder board is provided by attaching a strap 26 to the board. In the present instance the strap 26 is stitched to the hinged panel 24. Snap fastener elements 28, 29, one on the strap and the other on the board, permit the strap to be anchored after it has been threaded through suitable strap loops upon a uniform. When engaged, the fastener elements also retain the panel 24 tightly pressed against the underside of the shoulder board.

In Figure 4, the band 3| has the resilient strap 32 secured to the band end 33 in a more or less permanent manner, such as by stitching. The other end 34 of the band is joined to the resilient strap 32'by the cooperating elements of a snap or glove fastener 35. The mode of attachment of the band 3| is to position the band properly and then to tense the resilient strap and engage the parts of the fastener 35 whereupon the tension is released.

Thus it can be seen that the bands may be removed or shifted and that others may be added as occasion may require. In the instance of an ofllcer being advanced from the rank of a naval lieutenant, junior grade, to a full lieutenancy, in which case he increases his paired stripes from a wide and narrow one to two Wide ones, all that need be done is to remove the narrow stripe,

star l3, or other insignia, to provide the proper spacing, and reattach the shoulder board. It can be readily seen that this is important from several standpoints. One advantage is that all the expensive gold braid need not bev discarded and only that additionally required need be added. Another advantage is that the proper spacing of the various parts of the insignia can be maintained according to regulation merely by shifting the parts and without recourse to delicate and tedious sewing or even to cutting and reassembling.

In Figure 5 a modified means and manner of 4 attaching the star or other similar insignia is add a second wide stripe in its place, shift the shown. In this instance the board 40 is provided with a covering 4! and medial holes, one of which is indicated at 42. The star 43 has a threaded shank 44 which is pushed through the cloth 4i and passed through the passage 42 to properly position the device. A thumb nut 45 is threadedly engaged on the shank 44 and when tightened the star is firmly secured. By providing a series of openings 42 along the median of the board ny one of several openings may be used for attaching a star in accordance with the number of bands that may be displayed, the location of the star depending upon the bands and having a regulation spacing from the one nearest the pointed end I l of the board. This can be calculated and provided for in advance of the covering of the board and the holes used when and as required.

Although I have shownand described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modification thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be limited except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit. of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A shoulder board for uniforms, comprising: a stiff base member having a cloth covering, a band positioned across the viewed face of said base member and having its ends turned under the edge thereof, means operable solely in cooperation with the ends of the band for retaining the band in place, a covering panel hingedly secured along its end edge to the cloth covering of the base member and adapted to cover and conceal the ends of the band and the means cooperable therewith to trim the shoulder board and present a neat edge appearance.

2. A shoulder board for uniforms, comprising: a stiff base member forming a. backing board, a cloth covering secured to said base member to cover at least the face and the edges of the base member, a female snap fastener element secured to said board and disposed on the under side thereof, an insignia band positioned across the face of said cloth covered base member and having its ends turned under the edges thereof, a resilient bridge member between said underturned ends of the band to retain the same in place, a covering panel hingedly secured to said cloth covering along its edge at the end of the base member opposite to said female snap fastener element, said covering panel having an opening in alignment with the female snap fastener element, said panel when in position lying over and concealing the band ends and the resilient bridge. and a strap hingedly secured at one end to said covering panel adjacent the hinged joinder of the same to the base member, said strap having a male snap fastener element to engage through the opening in the covering panel and into the female snap fastener element for securin: the shoulder board in place on a uniform.

. SAMUEL COHEN: 

